Why does Disney ruin A good thing AKL?!

[kenman]

I just read that AKL has got rid of alot of it's African cast members!?

That was the best part of the Hotel is the african cast,none at Mara anymore, I also heard that the store closes at 10:00pm it used to be open till 11:30 pm what a bummer this means that after the parks close you can't shop at the hotel it will be closed ! I am thinking about not going there because of all the changes taking place !!

 

[ducklite]

I can't comment for sure, as I haven't been there since December and haven't heard anything official. but, AKL has been open for about a year now. My bet is that the situation stems from INS problems. Generally H1-B visa's (work visa's) are good for one year interval's. Before the end of that year, the non-resident alien needs to either have their employer reapply for a new visa, or they need to have won a green card lottery, or they need to leave the country. They can generally stay in the country for up to thirty days at the end of the visa as a tourist, depending on their country of citizenship, however they are not permitted to work during this time, and are supposed to let the INS know of their intent to remain for an additional period as a tourist.

Generally from the time a H1-B visa is applied for and the time it is granted takes up to five months. The quickest I've seen them approved is for an alien already employed in the USA, and renewing the H1-B, and that was about six weeks.

H1-B's are not free. Although it's not absolutely nessecary, generally the application process is handled by an attorney. The average cost to prepare an application and pay the filing fee is somewhere between $2-5K.

My bet is that after September 11, two things happened. First, the INS tightened the application process for non-permanent resident aliens (the H1-B and F-1 Visa's in particular). The process now takes longer from start to finish. I also suspect that when business really dropped off, Disney evaluated areas where they could cut costs. One of these areas would most definitely have been the International program.

Even if they reconsidered after business began to pick back up, it's most likely that they would not have had the time to process the needed paperwork with the INS to keep the cast from the International program here working after their visa's ran out.

In all honesty, the most likely scenario is that the Lodge International program cast were only signed on for one year to begin with, which is the standard contract. After September 11, Disney decided to hold off on a replacement crew until business picked back up. Once business did pick back up, theyw ere behind the ball because of the time it took to get the paperwork in place.

I also want to mention that a great many cast members who are US citizens or permenant resident aliens (green card holders) were furloughed after September 11. Disney is morally if not also legally obligated (not sure on the laws on this in the US, in Canada they would be legally obligated as well) to fill existing vacancies with furloughed cast before they fill the vacancies with alien's.

My guess is that if business remains strong, we will see Disney's International program back in place as it always has been. It's a wonderful opportunity, not just for the cast, but also for the guests in order to meet the cast and learn about the different cultures of the world. I wish that they would have kept the Millenium Village open for just this reason, although that cost a small fortune to run, not in the exhibits themselves, but in the cost of casting it.

Anne

 

[Peter Pirate]

Where did you read this?

 

[llp479]

My understanding is the CM's are here on J-1 visas, which is a cultural exchange visa. These are only good for one year, at which time the person must return home. A J-1 visa cannot be extended, nor can you return on a second J-1 visa.

We have au pair's who are on J-1 visas. One of our prior South African au pair's wanted to return to work at AK. She was not allowed to apply for the visa because she already had been to the US on a J-1 visa.

Perhaps the expense of having to bring them over and provide housing is where they chose to cut costs.

 

[MICOL]

I hope thats not true, I really enjoyed taking to the African Cast members last year. They were very imformative. One gentleman did tell me he had an 8 month Visa. He had about 4 months to go and that was last May. He came from an African Game Park.

 

[eeyore0062]

More than likely it was not Disney's idea... it has more to do with the work visa than anything. Disney has a wonderful international student program, and I am sure that as soon as more Africans apply, they will be glad to employ them. So, lets not always lay the blame on Disney!

 

[pixiechick]

We were there Christmas week. I spoke with a CM stationed at Arusha Rock and he said that as of March, he would be the senior CM because most others would be done their stay. And, he was very new (I caught him calling in a question about one of the animals and he admitted knowing little about their habits at that point.) Maybe the next round is still training or on their way.

 

[DeeP]

Disney still has their International student program and their college programs operating. It is probably as others have said the new crew just has not arrived. As far as the gift shop, when we were there in the height of the summer season last July/August the gift shop was pretty deserted when we went in after 9:30 or so, maybe it isn't financially benefical for them to staff a store with few or no customers in it.

 

[CarolA]

I think I read the same thing this person did and it said that there were not as many African workers in Mara. Somehow this did not really bother me. Personally if I got to to come to America I would rather work in guest relations or driving the safari than in Mara!!!

I go to AKL to meet people AND see the animals. Mara is pretty low on my priority list since you can't see animals there. As long as Disney still has cast members in the viewing areas I am happy (and I don't really care where they come from if they know about the animals!)

 

[tjmw2727]

FWIW I am from just north of Boston and ran into a college program emplyee at Mara from a school near here! The international students got preferance in what area they worked and she ended up at Mara. She was in vet school and wanted desparately to work with animals somewhere and ended up taking orders for hambergers in Mara. Seems even though she knew the animals better the international students made for better show.... <insert grain of salt>

Oh well - she was pleasant and hopeful for next year but seems the international students would be found elsewhere!

TJ

 

[Janet2k]

I met Thabo (forgive me if I'm spelling it incorrectly) during my first AKL stay. When I was there over the holidays, he was there too. He told me that his work contract with Disney was up in March or April (I forget which) and then he would spend a few final weeks in the US visiting people he had met during his stay before heading home to Africa. He said that Disney was already interviewing the second crew of African folks for the AKL, and that they would be starting once they were all hired and cleared for entrance into the US. It seems that the circle of life continues.